In a critical game, the Knights were trying to end a two-game losing streak at home, which previously had never happened before their loss to the Flyers on Sunday. Things weren’t looking promising, as entering the third period, Vegas trailed the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 after squandering one power play chance after another.
Coming into the third period, the VGK was on a power play that carried over from the second period. The power play was off, as they were 0-4 in the game, but a PPG to begin the third period could turn the momentum of the game.
Chicago is in somewhat of a downhill spiral. They lost on Monday night to the Arizona Coyotes, the last place team in the league, marking their sixth loss in a row. The last time the Blackhawks had a losing streak longer than the current one was back in 2012, when they lost nine straight.
Ironically, coming into last night’s game, Chicago was 15-0-3 when taking a lead into the third. Meanwhile, the VGK own the best comeback record in the entire NHL. Something had to give and boy oh boy, did it ever.
Brad Hunt opened the third-period scoring on the power play, the first of three back-to-back-to-back goals in 4:50 to start the period. In the blink of an eye, the score went from a 2-1 deficit to a 4-2 lead. Tomas Nosek closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal to make the final score 5-2. Reilly Smith and David Perron sandwiched their goals between Hunt’s power-play goal and Nosek’s empty-net goal.
Once again, T-Mobile was filled with a large contingent of Blackhawks fan, who were a lot classier than a few of the Flyer fans on Sunday, whose conduct gives the entire Philly fan base a bad name. Other teams’ fans will continue to flock to Las Vegas, the perfect city to visit when your team is town.
You’ll see this out-of-town-fan trend continue for the rest of the season and perhaps into the next season or two, before Las Vegans gobble up all the seats at T-Mobile. Hockey has one of the most loyal fan bases of all the sports, especially the original six teams, which enjoy four or five generations who were born into a family of die-hard hockey fans. This is what makes the VGK even more exciting to watch: Their new fans, in fact the entire city, have never had a team to bond with. Myself, I’ve been a die-hard New York Rangers’ fan since my dad brought me to my first hockey game at the tender age of nine. Many decades, later my love for the Rangers remains strong, but I have to admit, I’m smitten with these VGK. And they’ve galvanized an entire city.
With last night’s home win, their 20th in 26 home games, they tied both the 1967-68 L.A. Kings and the 1979-80 Hartford Whalers for 20 home wins in the first season. The VGK still have 16 more home games to play. So chalk up another record to be smashed by the Knights.
Their record is now 37-15-4 and they lead the entire Western Conference by one point, with a 10-point lead over the San Jose Sharks in the Pacific Division.
Marc Andre Fleury made 29 saves on 31 shots. The VGK power play went 1 for 6, but that one goal may have been exactly what turned the entire complexion of the game.
Ryan Carpenter scored the Knights’ first goal of the game and his third of the season; he’s now scored three goals in his last five games.
VGK scorers for tonight’s game: Ryan Carpenter (3), Brad Hunt (3) PPG, Reilly Smith (17), David Perrone (14), Tomas Nosek (4).
The VGK’s next game is tomorrow night vs. Edmonton, 7 p.m. at T-Mobile.
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